Hey Chefs! Got the Ooni Karu 12 for Fathers Day

[GemParty]

Looking forward to experimenting. Any suggestions on getting stated? Doughs, sauces, toppings, and fuel source you prefer.

Thanks.

 

[Edward Sargent]

I buy dough at Publix and like clams, sausage caramalized onions roasted red peppers on a white pizza with a little added ricotta.

 

[auror]

If you want to do Neopolitan-style, a 2 or 3 day cold ferment is a good idea. You can also make a poolish overnight and then ferment 1 day (kinda the same thing).

This guy's channel has a bunch of good techniques and tips:

 

[auror]

If you want to do Neopolitan-style, a 2 or 3 day cold ferment is a good idea. You can also make a poolish overnight and then ferment 1 day (kinda the same thing).

This guy's channel has a bunch of good techniques and tips:

Too late to edit but forgot a few more tips, so 2nd post.
I'm a fan of blending a high protein flour (like bread flour) with a fine flour like a 00 Italian, usually 50/50. Hydration% mid 60s depending on the style of pizza.

Simple tomato sauce is usually best, don't oversauce. I usually put some basil in the sauce and on top before cooking, and then more fresh on top after.

Bufala mozzarella for Neapolitan. Low moisture mozzarella (shredded yourself to avoid the anti-clumping stuff the pre-shredded has in it) best for some other american types.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I prefer using hardwood lump charcoal with my Ooni over the wood pellets. I have never used the propane attachment.

I keep the sauce simple. A pinch of salt and some good plum tomatoes is all you really need. I add a little basil to mine as well.

Fewer toppings is best. Aim for min of 600⁰ on the deck.

 

[Deepster]

I'm going to take a whiz in the punchbowl.

I've had the Ooni Fyre for 2 years now and hate it. We live in the pizza capital of the world. All the prep and work to make pizza at home is a royal PITA when there are spots all over this state that you or I simply will never outdo.

But have fun figuring it out....

 

[dogpause]

Hate to say it, but the Ooni was the worst purchase I ever made. Imagine how difficult it would be to get toast right if you had a manually operated 10-second toaster. When you try to cook a pizza in one minute, the difference between edible and incinerated makes it almost impossible to accomplish. Ever tried to slide a pizza dough off the peeler through a narrow opening that's spewing 900 degree flames? Cooking a pizza means getting the dough and the cheese to be done at about the same time, which makes the Ooni the culinary device from hell.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Obviously you are not going to be making New Haven apizza level pizzas right out of the gate, but you can turn out some high quality pizza none the less for very little cost. Where I am at in the state the good pizza places are few and I can make just as good if not better at home than the majority of the places around me.

I have not delved in to making my own dough yet, but I can buy a box of dough at Restaurant Depot for $20 which has 24 10 oz. dough balls in it and already frozen. I buy the same tomatoes that many pizza places use as well. Pizza is extremely inexpensive to make at home. As long as you use quality ingredients you will be mostly happy with your product.

If you do not have a good ratio of air temp and deck temp you will have some difficulty getting the final product to where you want. I like to keep the air temp in the 600-700⁰ range and deck at a min or 600⁰. I have found anything higher will burn the top and leave the bottom uncooked. You will find that the Ooni instructions are a bit off for time to get up to the temp you want, I have found it needs more time preheating in order to get the deck to the right temp.

I have had my Ooni Pro for 5 years and use it almost weekly. The only pizza I have not perfected in the Ooni is Grandma Style, but I have some ideas on how to get there.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Looked into getting one of those for a while. Decided this past winter to get a Mont Alpi pizza oven, primarily for tailgating at football games (all are welcome by the way). The reasoning behind this over an Ooni is that it is a portable gas oven & you can't use wood or charcoal at the Rent for tailgating.

I plan on spending most of the summer experimenting so that I'll be in mid-season form by the time football season starts.

For the record I've made own dough & sauce for decades and back in the 1990's a number of friends (and some family) of my ex-wife thought I should open my own pizza place.

 

[husky429]

The Ooni is designed for making Neapolitan 'za, so recommendations are based on that.

Noob advice:

• Hand-make your dough--much better than the store. It's going to be much wetter than you expect when you first combine ingredients, but don't add flour until you've kneaded for a while. You'll be surprised how much it comes together into a ball after a bit.
• Blend or crush up some San Marzano tomatoes for sauce instead of the can. Way tastier.
• Don't get dried/shredded cheese. Get the blobs.
• Keep your temp at 600-700 if you can at first. Much more room for error when you're learning how to work the machine.
• You're probably going to f--- up a bunch of pizzas at first.

Nerd Advice:

• Sauce: if you're using anything other than hand-crushed real certified San Marzano tomatoes, you're doing it wrong. Add a little bit of salt if you want, but it's not really necessary.
• Cheese: If you want to do it the Italian way, get some bufala mozz at a bougie grocery store. Whatever you do, don't get shredded cheese. That's sacrilege.
• Get a basil plant. They never die and you can have fresh basil all year.
• Dough: The most important, and most complicated piece of the puzzle. I'd just look up a recipe and follow it.
  • If you know anyone with a sourdough starter, I'd get some... it's got a much better flavor than active dry yeast. @Stinger92860 (right?) sent me a sourdough starter years ago that upped my dough game big time. My mother, saint that she is, killed it 2 summers ago when I went on vacation and she offered to feed it and it broke my heart.
  • Make sure the recipe is something with "00" flour. You can find it at regular groceries stores now.
  • It shouldn't have anything but salt, yeast, flour and a bit of water. No oil, no sugar... that's not dough.
  • Look for a 50%+ hydration dough recipe. I usually go for 53% hydration.
  • Measure your ingredients by WEIGHT not by cups/tablespoons. Weight is a much better way of cooking, and Americans screw things up royally by not weighing ingredients when baking.
• Olive oil: You can throw a little over the 'za if you want. Not mandatory, but I like to. I'm an olive oil snob. My favorite olive oil I've ever had is this stuff I tried in South Africa last summer. Put it on a pizza I made yesterday, in fact.

 

[MJKI]

The Ooni is designed for making Neapolitan 'za, so recommendations are based on that.

Noob advice:

• Hand-make your dough--much better than the store. It's going to be much wetter than you expect when you first combine ingredients, but don't add flour until you've kneaded for a while. You'll be surprised how much it comes together into a ball after a bit.
• Blend or crush up some San Marzano tomatoes for sauce instead of the can. Way tastier.
• Don't get dried/shredded cheese. Get the blobs.
• Keep your temp at 600-700 if you can at first. Much more room for error when you're learning how to work the machine.
• You're probably going to f--- up a bunch of pizzas at first.

Nerd Advice:

• Sauce: if you're using anything other than hand-crushed real certified San Marzano tomatoes, you're doing it wrong. Add a little bit of salt if you want, but it's not really necessary.
• Cheese: If you want to do it the Italian way, get some bufala mozz at a bougie grocery store. Whatever you do, don't get shredded cheese. That's sacrilege.
• Get a basil plant. They never die and you can have fresh basil all year.
• Dough: The most important, and most complicated piece of the puzzle. I'd just look up a recipe and follow it.
  • If you know anyone with a sourdough starter, I'd get some... it's got a much better flavor than active dry yeast. @Stinger92860 (right?) sent me a sourdough starter years ago that upped my dough game big time. My mother, saint that she is, killed it 2 summers ago when I went on vacation and she offered to feed it and it broke my heart.
  • Make sure the recipe is something with "00" flour. You can find it at regular groceries stores now.
  • It shouldn't have anything but salt, yeast, flour and a bit of water. No oil, no sugar... that's not dough.
  • Look for a 50%+ hydration dough recipe. I usually go for 53% hydration.
  • Measure your ingredients by WEIGHT not by cups/tablespoons. Weight is a much better way of cooking, and Americans screw things up royally by not weighing ingredients when baking.
• Olive oil: You can throw a little over the 'za if you want. Not mandatory, but I like to. I'm an olive oil snob. My favorite olive oil I've ever had is this stuff I tried in South Africa last summer. Put it on a pizza I made yesterday, in fact.

Agreed with all of this here.
Very important to punch out all the air pockets prior to using the ooni, otherwise youre getting very bubbly pizza.
Heat up to as hot as possible for at least 15 minutes prior to avoid sticking and help cook evenly. I cut the heat a bit when the pie goes in always to avoid burning.
San Marzanos, always whole, and immersion blend it after its cooked for a while. I love tomato flavor so I always use paste too, but you have to make sure you cook the paste prior to adding the SM tomatoes.

 

[Drumguy]

I now use just the 00 flour, better results overall and since I continue to be pizza dough stretching incompetant, I use pizza grates like these:
Pizza grates

I have a 16" ooni so I bought the 16" version. Just spray them with PAM ahead of using them - much easier for a beginner to manipulate in the oven.

Also I turn down the heat to 3/4 after I start cooking so it's likely to burn. Get a turning paddle as well.

 

[husky429]

Agreed with all of this here.
Very important to punch out all the air pockets prior to using the ooni, otherwise youre getting very bubbly pizza.
Heat up to as hot as possible for at least 15 minutes prior to avoid sticking and help cook evenly. I cut the heat a bit when the pie goes in always to avoid burning.
San Marzanos, always whole, and immersion blend it after its cooked for a while. I love tomato flavor so I always use paste too, but you have to make sure you cook the paste prior to adding the SM tomatoes.

Fwiw my Italian pizzaiolo friend claims blending the tomatoes makes them too acidic. I've never done a side by side test though. Could just be one of those traditions people stick to unreasonably.

 

[Drumguy]

I now use just the 00 flour, better results overall and since I continue to be pizza dough stretching incompetant, I use pizza grates like these:
Pizza grates

I have a 16" ooni so I bought the 16" version. Just spray them with PAM ahead of using them - much easier for a beginner to manipulate in the oven.

Also I turn down the heat to 3/4 after I start cooking so it's likely to burn. Get a turning paddle as well.

"less" likely to burn the crust.

 

[UCSouth]

Hate to say it, but the Ooni was the worst purchase I ever made. Imagine how difficult it would be to get toast right if you had a manually operated 10-second toaster. When you try to cook a pizza in one minute, the difference between edible and incinerated makes it almost impossible to accomplish. Ever tried to slide a pizza dough off the peeler through a narrow opening that's spewing 900 degree flames? Cooking a pizza means getting the dough and the cheese to be done at about the same time, which makes the Ooni the culinary device from hell.

If you or @Deepster want to send me your pizza oven, because unfortunately, the best pizza in South Alabama comes from a gas station/convenience store....I'll gladly give the culinary device from hell a try.....LOL

 

[dogpause]

Luckily, mine went back to Amazon and I got a full refund.

 

[Waquoit]

I'm going to take a whiz in the punchbowl.

I've had the Ooni Fyre for 2 years now and hate it. We live in the pizza capital of the world. All the prep and work to make pizza at home is a royal PITA when there are spots all over this state that you or I simply will never outdo.

It had to be said. I know a guy who spent a ton of dough putting in an outdoor pizza oven by the pool. He also has gone through a ton of dough and has yet to pull a decent pizza out of the thing.

 

[August_West]

I'm going to take a whiz in the punchbowl.

I've had the Ooni Fyre for 2 years now and hate it. We live in the pizza capital of the world. All the prep and work to make pizza at home is a royal PITA when there are spots all over this state that you or I simply will never outdo.

But have fun figuring it out....

eh..... youre not wrong per se. High level Pizza making is HARD and labor intensive, but it's one of those things where if that's what youre into and want to put the work in you can. Different strokes. You make kielbasa if I remember correctly. That aint exactly a paint by numbers deal either. If someone wants to put the time in and derives pleasure from the process you can absolutely make great Pizza.

Ive been down that rabbit hole and out the other side. I dont do it much anymore either. Just dont have the time. But if someone does and enjoys it, godspeed.

 

[MTHusky]

It's not rocket science guys. Pizza done in the OONI KODA 16"

 

[August_West]

It's not rocket science guys. Pizza done in the OONI KODA 16"
View attachment 89062

Looks good. But I cant tell you if it is good until I get into the crust. That is the make or break deal for Pizza making and what takes all your time and effort and trial and error. And dough making can be part rocket science.

 

[Deepster]

eh..... youre not wrong per se. High level Pizza making is HARD and labor intensive, but it's one of those things where if that's what youre into and want to put the work in you can. Different strokes. You make kielbasa if I remember correctly. That aint exactly a paint by numbers deal either. If someone wants to put the time in and derives pleasure from the process you can absolutely make great Pizza.

Ive been down that rabbit hole and out the other side. I dont do it much anymore either. Just dont have the time. But if someone does and enjoys it, godspeed.

I don’t disagree. But they advertise this thing like you’re gonna take it out of the box and slide a Sally’s tomato pie out of it ten minutes later.

Ripped pizzas. Scorched pizzas. Burnt edge, doughy middles. Trouble keeping the temp up (on the pellet version). And that’s assuming you do have real quality dough and ingredients. Oh and if you have 4 or more people? You’re going to hustle to get enough pies out cooking 14-16” at a clip. It’s made out to be fool proof and it’s not.

I’ll save you some kielbasa next time. It’s only 5-6 ingredients, a grinder and some hog casing. And lots of garlic.

 

[McLovin]

If you or @Deepster want to send me your pizza oven, because unfortunately, the best pizza in South Alabama comes from a gas station/convenience store....I'll gladly give the culinary device from hell a try.....LOL

Hunts Brothers pizza? Lol

 

[August_West]

I don’t disagree. But they advertise this thing like you’re gonna take it out of the box and slide a Sally’s tomato pie out of it ten minutes later.

Ripped pizzas. Scorched pizzas. Burnt edge, doughy middles. Trouble keeping the temp up (on the pellet version). And that’s assuming you do have real quality dough and ingredients. Oh and if you have 4 or more people? You’re going to hustle to get enough pies out cooking 14-16” at a clip. It’s made out to be fool proof and it’s not.

I’ll save you some kielbasa next time. It’s only 5-6 ingredients, a grinder and some hog casing. And lots of garlic.

Yeah . Agreed .you’re on the money. The ooni is fine but that’s not what makes a pizza great. There is a boneyarder here who makes better pizza at home than all but the top 1% of pizza places in country. @notthestuff . I’m pretty good and can’t touch him. He uses a standard oven that goes to 500-550 tops, and uses a pizza steel. No ooni or other type of pizza cooker , a standard oven. His stuff is so good because he probably does it at least 5 times a month ( maybe more) for last 5 plus years and his trial and error the whole time have made his dough game impeccable. . That and quality ingredients ( mootz and pepperoni ordered online from restaurant distributors) just really nails every part of game. He’d be first to say it’s the dough/crust making. It’s so on point it’s a big reason why I quit ! Lol.


I’ll gladly take some kielbasa!

I’ve been working on jalapeño cheddar Texas sausages. Getting there.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Ripped pizzas. Scorched pizzas. Burnt edge, doughy middles. Trouble keeping the temp up (on the pellet version). And that’s assuming you do have real quality dough and ingredients. Oh and if you have 4 or more people? You’re going to hustle to get enough pies out cooking 14-16” at a clip. It’s made out to be fool proof and it’s not.

This is exactly why I stopped using the wood pellets and switched to hardwood lump charcoal. So much easier to get it hot and keep it hot for multiple pizzas.

 

[UConn Esq]

Ooni is the cooking equivalent of golf. It requires a ton of practice and tweaking and when you think you have it down, you probably don’t. It’s the few good shots/pizzas that keep you coming back. But overall it’s super frustrating and you can spend hours to be left with a ruined pizza. My best advice is to bring extra balls and make extra dough.